Decorum
by Mikkeneko
Summary: Kurogane tries to prepare Fai for life in Nihon. Post-series, Kuro/Fai.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Decorum  
><strong>Rating<strong>: PG-13  
><strong>Warnings: <strong> Sex, silliness.  
><strong>Spoilers<strong>: Post-series, no explicit reference to series end.  
><strong>Summary<strong>: Kurogane figured, with as much work as it was going to take to make Fai presentable to the court at Nihon, he had better start teaching him _now._  
>Author's Notes: Written for Reikah.<p>

* * *

><p>He set about training Fai the two hundred and twenty-fifth day out from Clow. As time and space passed away behind them, an unspoken understanding slowly grew between them that when this journey was done, Kurogane and Fai would return to Nihon together. Sakura and Syaoran might come with them, or they might not; sooner or later, children had to fly the nest. At least as long as Fai's magic lasted, it wasn't like they could never see or visit them again, from whatever world they finally settled.<p>

And Kurogane figured, with as much work as it was going to take to make Fai presentable to the court at Nihon, he had better start teaching him _now._

* * *

><p><p>

They started with language. Six months in Yama and Fai had never really moved beyond a few basic vocabulary words, no matter how Kurogane had tried to hassle him into speaking more. Kurogane had no idea how someone could be so clever with magical word-runes, and yet so completely hopeless at mastering the simple _kana _syllabary. But Kurogane was determined, this time, and he had finally hit on a way to turn Fai into an eager student.

Kisses. One kiss per word mastered, although Kurogane held firm that words already mastered would not count towards the total. Kurogane got to decide what constituted mastery, in terms of pronunciation, spelling, and comprehension. Fai argued and whined and objected to the necessity of learning correct stroke order, but Kurogane held firm, and he had the arms' reach to hold Fai off from claiming his prizes until he'd earned them. Fai's pouting lips were a temptation that strained even his resistance, but day by day, Fai's working vocabulary of Japanese steadily increased.

Of course, it would defeat the purpose of teaching the words if Mokona automatically translated each word into Fai's native language; so as long as their current world was a safe one, Kurogane had the kid take Mokona somewhere out of range. The boy was more than willing to get out of the way and give them some privacy for their lessons, having walked in on one too many 'training' sessions already. This had the added benefit of providing an early warning system; when they began to understand each other again, they knew that Syaoran was coming back with Mokona.

"Kuro-sama," Fai whined; he was slumped forward over the low table between them, half-sprawled over their papers and smudging the practice sheets holding his wobbly calligraphy. "Enough tonight, I _tired…_" He followed this up with a stream of complaint in his own incomprehensible language, but his tone made it clear enough what he was saying.

Kurogane snorted. "Speak Japanese," he prompted him, giving him a shake on the shoulder. "Tell me what you want in proper language, and we'll call it for the night."

Fai gave a martyred sigh and pushed himself back up. "Tsukarata," he whined.

"Tsuka_re_ta," Kurogane corrected him. "You mean you're _tired. _Sleepy."

"Yes, tired," Fai agreed, then bit his lip as he tried to call up the proper word. "Nemu… suki."

"_No,_ dumbass," Kurogane growled.

"Nemu hoshii?" Fai tried hopefully, turning his big, baby-blue eyes on Kurogane, but Kurogane manfully resisted.

"No. Come on, you should know this," Kurogane prodded him.

"Nem… Netai," Fai said, his expression clearing in triumph as he sat up. "I _want_ to go to sleep."

"Correct," Kurogane breathed, and he tugged on Fai's sleeve, pulling him in for a kiss.

This one lasted far longer than most of their lesson kisses, the wall clock ticking away in the close silences of the late-night library. Fai made a small sound, shifting around the sharp edge of the table so that he could climb into Kurogane's lap and wrap his arms around Kurogane's lap. At last they broke apart, both of them breathing a little harder.

"Netai," Fai breathed, and trailed one fingertip down Kurogane's jaw, trailing over his neck and down along the line of his shirt. "Kuro-sama to isshou ni netai."

Well. How could Kurogane argue with that?

* * *

><p>The next order of business was chopsticks. Bad enough that Fai still couldn't stomach raw fish in any form; his attempts to choke it down to please Kurogane had only ended in catastrophe. But while Fai could still get by in Nihon without eating raw fish, he wasn't going to get out of using chopsticks.<p>

Despite his considerable manual dexterity and no matter how many worlds they traveled through where chopsticks were common, he simply could not seem to get the hang of using them. He ignored Kurogane's growled admonitions and ate with his fingers, or skewered pieces of food on the point of the chopsticks, which was fine in the army camp at Yama but was _not_ going to fly in Shirasagi court.

For months they were at a stalemate over the chopsticks issue; until, struck by the success of the language lessons, Kurogane made Fai a deal.

With careful, exaggerated motions Fai lifted the last piece of pickled daikon to his lips. Once finished, he laid the chopsticks - properly, Kurogane had spent ages trying to get him to stop sticking them upright in his rice bowl like a funeral - across his dish, and beamed up at Kurogane in pride. "All done, Kuro-tan!" he proclaimed, his accent heavy in his voice - but still quite recognizably Japanese. "No drops, no spills! Can I have my prize now?" He batted his eyelashes teasingly, but Kurogane had long practice reading his smile, and he could tell that Fai was truly pleased with himself for navigating an entire meal without mishap.

"Hm," Kurogane replied. He was proud of Fai, too. Without further comment he leaned over the side of Fai's chair, pushing the empty dishes safely back from the edge, then pulled the chair back away from the table with a scrape. Fai squeaked and clutched the edge of the chair at the abrupt movement, but Kurogane's hand on his chest pushed him back and prevented him from standing up.

Kurogane knelt in front of the chair, pushing Fai's knees apart to settle between them. "Ku, Kuro-sama," Fai stuttered as Kurogane's long, calloused fingers undid the fastenings of his trousers, trailing down the skin of his stomach to dive beneath the waistband. "Ah, um, shouldn't we… go to bedroom first?"

"Why?" Kurogane breathed on the inside of Fai's thigh, raising goosebumps on the pale skin and making Fai shiver. He enjoyed Fai's discomfiture, rare as it was to see on the ebullient, outgoing man. "The lesson will stick better if we do it here."

"Kuro-sama…" High color was rising in Fai's cheeks, and he shut his eyes tight - head falling back against the chair as his hands clutched the edges of the wooden frame tightly, in lieu of pulling Kurogane's hair. Kurogane grinned, a sharp smile that Fai couldn't see from this angle, and pulled Fai's hips forward as his mouth engulfed the tip of Fai's cock.

Fai rarely had trouble with chopsticks again after that lesson.

* * *

><p><p>

The final battle, and Kurogane's biggest challenge, was etiquette.

This wasn't as easy as simply memorizing something new, like vocabulary and grammar, nor only of practicing a new skill until mastered, like pronunciation or handling chopsticks. It was learning a whole new way of living, the right things to say and do at the right times, and what not to say or do at the wrong times. It was unlearning a whole lifetime of habits and manners, and coming to understand a whole new set of values. It was knowing the right way to walk, the correct way to wear the clothes of Nihon and how to move in them. It was knowing how to sit, how to stand, how to smile, and it was everything that Fai was not.

If he was being honest with himself, Kurogane admitted that he'd never had much use for elegant court manners himself. But this wasn't about him. It was about Fai, and Kurogane knew that Fai was always going to stand out in Nihon, his exotic coloring and unusual accent marking him as an outsider no matter where he went. Tomoyo would understand, and Kendappa, but Kurogane knew that most of his countrymen were not so tolerant. He wouldn't put up with any ignorant gawkers insulting Fai, but there was also a limit to the number of heads he would be able to break before Tomoyo put her foot down.

Since he wasn't much of a tutor himself - at least not on subjects that didn't involve swordsmanship - Kurogane did his best to remember the old lessons his mother had tried to teach him, in happier days in Suwa. He'd managed to locate an uninhabited classroom, two bowls, and some low-grade green tea, and was trying to teach Fai the basics of the tea ceremony.

It was frustrating going. This world was in the middle of its summer, with the strong golden sun beating down on the overhead roof and raising steam from the lawn and woods all around them. Flies buzzed in and out of the windows, and the steady drone of cicadas made an incessant counterpoint to the shuffling and scraping of cloth over wood as he walked Fai through the steps yet again.

"You're not getting it," he growled in aggravation. "It's not just about rushing through the steps as fast as possible. You have to make each motion slowly, _deliberately,_ the point is that you are paying _attention_ to what you are doing. It's about being in the moment, about taking in every little detail of your surroundings and being one with the setting."

Frowning, he racked his brain as he cast back through his memories for every little detail of the ceremony he could remember. Why had he never paid attention when his mother performed the ceremony? Well, because he hadn't been interested at the time, and because he hadn't thought he'd ever need to know.

"Kuro," Fai said, his tone half-teasing.

"Try it again," Kurogane instructed, ignoring the interruption. "Turn the cup in your hands before you pour the tea, you are supposed to be looking at it, and feeling appreciation for the craftsmanship -"

"Kuro-_gane,_" Fai interrupted him.

The use of his full name was enough to snap Kurogane's full attention back to Fai, shocked and a little bit frightened by the resurfacing of a tension he'd thought was well gone between them. Was Fai angry with him, or -? But no, Fai was kneeling there, sweat-dampened hair wisping about his face, and smiling up at him with the same tender affection on his face that Kurogane so cherished.

"What?" he snapped, still shaken by the use of his name.

"Enough," Fai said gently. "Just be with me. Be _here_ with me."

As Kurogane still stared, at a loss for what to say or do, Fai rose to his feet and walked over to him, taking Kurogane's face in his hands and kissing him.

How could he have lost sight of this? How had he allowed himself to get so wrapped up in thoughts of the future - worrying about Fai's reception at the court, planning for the life they would have someday in Nihon - that he had stopped paying attention to the life they had now? How had he let himself be so distracted, already fighting future battles in his head, that he could not enjoy a simple afternoon of peace with Fai?

Still kissing him, Fai tugged on his shoulder, and the two of them sank down onto the woven rush mat. It wasn't as soft as a bed or a couch, but it was better than hard concrete or dry leaves out on the forest floor. All of which they'd had chances to experience in their journey, too. He made a noise of protest, muffled by Fai's mouth. Fai pulled back, placing one hand across his lips to silence him, and began tugging at the laces of Kurogane's shirt.

"Be with me," he said softly, almost a whisper, and smiled at Kurogane, a smile so lazy, so honest, so absolutely _beautiful_ that Kurogane's mouth went dry and his heart went into double-time.

"Yes," Kurogane answered, and followed him down.

* * *

><p>It seemed that Fai still had some things to teach Kurogane, as well.<p>

* * *

><p>~end.<p> 


	2. Epilogue: Where Are They Now?

This was written for **notasinglesoul5** in response to my Timestamp/Where Are They Now meme, where people could choose a story and request to see what happens five years later. I figured I might as well post it up as an epilogue here too.

* * *

><p>The first night after their return to Nihon, Tomoyo threw a banquet in their honor.<p>

Everyone congratulated Kurogane on his safe return, of course, but the main focus of attention was on Fai. After all, most of the court had only gotten a brief glimpse of him on his previous stay in Nihon; the news that he was to become a permanent resident aroused a buzz of gossipy excitement among the perpetually bored nobility. From the moment they entered the dining hall Fai was the center of a cloud of attention.

Fai soaked up all the attention and responded with a charming grace, displaying manners sufficient to soothe all but the grumpiest masters of ceremony. People constantly congratulated him on his nihongo, spoken with a trace of accent but with enviable precision, and complimented him on his lovely formal kimono of gold and green, the panels depicting a high cloud-swept sky over a peaceful rice paddy. (The kimono had been a gift from Tomoyo, of course; the princess had nearly been beside herself with glee to have, as she put it, someone who could wear green convincingly.)

The tone sounded for dinner, and they all took their seats; Kurogane at Tomoyo's right hand, since this dinner was in their honor, and Fai at her left. Fai wielded his chopsticks flawlessly, not dropping a single grain of rice or spilling a single drop of broth (personally, Kurogane suspected cheating; nobody could be THAT careful while eating.) A word in the senior butler's ear for the evening had ensured that no dishes containing raw fish would be served to the Princess's guests, so Fai was able to eat his way through the dozens of tiny, beautifully presented dishes without incident.

At the same time he managed to keep up casual, insightful conversation with his neighbor on the other side from Kurogane, the topic mainly revolving around some of the tamer adventures they'd had in the worlds they traveled through. Kurogane, initially poised on a wire over Fai's initial reception at court, slowly relaxed as the dinner went on until he was finally able to keep up a quiet conversation with Tomoyo without hyperfocusing on his lover.

They talked with the other guests, ate their way through countless tiny courses, drank far too much of the Princess' good sake, and watched the musicians and ribbon-dancers that danced between the tables for their entertainment. And when at last the banquet broke up, everyone called out well-wishes to them as they half-stumbled to the rooms that had been set aside for them.

"You were great tonight," Kurogane blurted out to Fai, as they knelt in the cool darkness on the mats between their futons. Fai paused for a moment, his hands on the lapels of Kuyrogane's kimono near his throat, and tilted his head consideringly. The moonlight coming through the slatted windows illuminated his grin.

"Why, Kuro-formal," Fai said slyly - even in native Nihongo he still found ways to mangle Kurogane's name, even though Kurogane could swear he'd never taught him how - "were you worried about how I'd behave?"

Kurogane wasn't sure how to answer that; there was a mischevious note in Fai's voice and he was too drunk to navigate a minefield of conversation with Fai. He just shook his head and pulled Fai into his arms, kissing him deeply.

"Did Kuro-chama think that I wasn't paying attention to him?" Fai murmured against his lips, and then lapped his tongue against the corner of Kurogane's mouth, cleaning a stray drop of sweet mirin sauce. "During all those lessons?"

"It just seemed strange to see you so well-behaved," Kurogane admitted, tracing his lips down the line of Fai's jaw. "It's not like you, somehow."

Fai gave a throaty laugh, and no more was said for the time being.

* * *

><p>The second night after their return to Nihon, Fai started a food fight.<p> 


End file.
